The sun doesn’t really “stand still,” as the word solstice implies. But during the summer and winter solstices (the first days respectively of summer and winter), the position of the noon sun seems stationary to the casual observer.
The sun’s position in the sky is dependent upon latitude, so it varies for each degree north or south of the Equator. The sun’s apparent position changes because of Earth’s axial tilt (23.5 degrees to the plane of its orbit and toward Polaris) and its revolution about the sun; the sun’s rays strike the round surface at different angles, again dependent upon latitude. Only those who reside between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn can on certain days see the noon
sun directly overhead. Those who live beyond the tropics never see an overhead noon sun. Noon, if you recall from some elementary school lesson, just marks the midway point in the sun’s journey across the sky, and that midway point can lie, once again dependent upon latitude, from directly overhead to the horizon.
On the first day of summer for the Northern Hemisphere (first of winter for the Southern Hemisphere) someone on the Equator would see the noon sun at 23.5 degrees from overhead. People along the Tropic of Cancer would see it overhead, and those at the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere would view the noon sun at 47 degrees from overhead (23.5 + 23.5). The view is reversed on the first day of the Northern Hemisphere’s winter. And those at the Equator get an overhead noon sun only on the first days of spring and fall.
Ignore the math if you can’t visualize this, and don’t stare at the sun. But consider the main point: The sun’s apparent standing still is merely that. Think if you want of riding a swing. At the highest point, the limit of the arc you make, you seem to pause as you reverse direction. For a brief time, both going forward and backward, you appear to be in the same position. Hope the analogy works.
In your movement you, like the sun, temporarily appear to “stand still,” it’s a “swingstice, a youstice.” But it’s just a brief appearance. Similarly, the sun seems to be in the same position in the sky for about two weeks, even though its position is, like the swing and its rider, changing.
Note the history of social and political movements. Pendulum swings, positional swings, idea swings occur. Positions seem to “stand still,” but subtle movements in the opposite direction occur. What seems to be a steady position is moving. The brightly shining ideas of one decade or generation yield to the “tilt” that underlies all positions. We go round and round, swinging between self-control and other-control, between individualism and groupthink. Just when position appears to be steady at some apex, the trend is already in the opposite direction. The natural tilt and revolution can’t be undone by a temporary position.
And the process seems to apply in daily living as during the peak of fashion or fad a new fashion or fad takes gradual precedence. Where, for example, are your leisure suit and super-wide bellbottoms? But I hope you haven’t thrown them out. They were popular twice in the last century, and they will probably swing back into fashion in some form.
Whether it’s idea and fashion or perception about natural phenomena the same truth about appearance seems to apply. If you ask someone who lives north of the Tropic of Cancer where he or she will see the sun at noon, the person will almost invariably say, “Overhead,” even though such a solar position cannot be seen from latitudes north of 23.5 degrees latitude. If you ask someone convinced of idea or fashion where either stands in value, you will hear something similar, maybe, “It’s at top; it’s significant; it’s the only way to think or dress.” So, two misconceptions seem to rule. First, many people have misconceptions about positions, ideas they obtained without thorough examination, just as some have never taken a protractor or theodolite to measure the sun’s angle. Second, those same people have misconceptions about the durability of their positions.
Look back on your own positions. How have they changed? Can you recognize the moment when you began to alter your position? Can you see any underlying reasons that caused the positional change, some undeniable tilt and movement beyond your personal control? What do you now possibly misconstrue as a true and unshakeable position that might only be apparent? What objective measurements can you make to see the reality of your positions?
Should we wonder that there’s always a tension among positions? Most, if not all, of us hold onto unmeasured, un-quantified ideas and see apparent positions as standing still. At times each of us marks an ideastice; and each places it in an overhead position regardless of its true location and thinks it will last while by its very nature it is already in a state of change.
The sun’s position in the sky is dependent upon latitude, so it varies for each degree north or south of the Equator. The sun’s apparent position changes because of Earth’s axial tilt (23.5 degrees to the plane of its orbit and toward Polaris) and its revolution about the sun; the sun’s rays strike the round surface at different angles, again dependent upon latitude. Only those who reside between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn can on certain days see the noon
sun directly overhead. Those who live beyond the tropics never see an overhead noon sun. Noon, if you recall from some elementary school lesson, just marks the midway point in the sun’s journey across the sky, and that midway point can lie, once again dependent upon latitude, from directly overhead to the horizon.
On the first day of summer for the Northern Hemisphere (first of winter for the Southern Hemisphere) someone on the Equator would see the noon sun at 23.5 degrees from overhead. People along the Tropic of Cancer would see it overhead, and those at the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere would view the noon sun at 47 degrees from overhead (23.5 + 23.5). The view is reversed on the first day of the Northern Hemisphere’s winter. And those at the Equator get an overhead noon sun only on the first days of spring and fall.
Ignore the math if you can’t visualize this, and don’t stare at the sun. But consider the main point: The sun’s apparent standing still is merely that. Think if you want of riding a swing. At the highest point, the limit of the arc you make, you seem to pause as you reverse direction. For a brief time, both going forward and backward, you appear to be in the same position. Hope the analogy works.
In your movement you, like the sun, temporarily appear to “stand still,” it’s a “swingstice, a youstice.” But it’s just a brief appearance. Similarly, the sun seems to be in the same position in the sky for about two weeks, even though its position is, like the swing and its rider, changing.
Note the history of social and political movements. Pendulum swings, positional swings, idea swings occur. Positions seem to “stand still,” but subtle movements in the opposite direction occur. What seems to be a steady position is moving. The brightly shining ideas of one decade or generation yield to the “tilt” that underlies all positions. We go round and round, swinging between self-control and other-control, between individualism and groupthink. Just when position appears to be steady at some apex, the trend is already in the opposite direction. The natural tilt and revolution can’t be undone by a temporary position.
And the process seems to apply in daily living as during the peak of fashion or fad a new fashion or fad takes gradual precedence. Where, for example, are your leisure suit and super-wide bellbottoms? But I hope you haven’t thrown them out. They were popular twice in the last century, and they will probably swing back into fashion in some form.
Whether it’s idea and fashion or perception about natural phenomena the same truth about appearance seems to apply. If you ask someone who lives north of the Tropic of Cancer where he or she will see the sun at noon, the person will almost invariably say, “Overhead,” even though such a solar position cannot be seen from latitudes north of 23.5 degrees latitude. If you ask someone convinced of idea or fashion where either stands in value, you will hear something similar, maybe, “It’s at top; it’s significant; it’s the only way to think or dress.” So, two misconceptions seem to rule. First, many people have misconceptions about positions, ideas they obtained without thorough examination, just as some have never taken a protractor or theodolite to measure the sun’s angle. Second, those same people have misconceptions about the durability of their positions.
Look back on your own positions. How have they changed? Can you recognize the moment when you began to alter your position? Can you see any underlying reasons that caused the positional change, some undeniable tilt and movement beyond your personal control? What do you now possibly misconstrue as a true and unshakeable position that might only be apparent? What objective measurements can you make to see the reality of your positions?
Should we wonder that there’s always a tension among positions? Most, if not all, of us hold onto unmeasured, un-quantified ideas and see apparent positions as standing still. At times each of us marks an ideastice; and each places it in an overhead position regardless of its true location and thinks it will last while by its very nature it is already in a state of change.
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